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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2000;283:1126-1129.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

San Diego police detectives were tipped off that a felony was taking place at a neighborhood pharmacy. With a quick response, they managed to catch the perpetrator—a middle-class woman with no prior arrests.

These detectives work narcotics, and they're arresting felons committing prescription fraud. Those arrested, around 75 people a year in San Diego, usually are seeking hydrocodones, such as Vicodin, or other painkillers for personal use. The typical abuser is a middle-class woman—not the stereotypical lower-class junkie. And the addiction usually starts following a visit to her physician's office, where she gets her first prescription for pain relief medication, the police said.

SECRETS AND LIES

"This is middle America's dirty little secret," said Det Sgt Jeff Dean of the San Diego Police Department. And while it may be a little secret, it's a big concern.

The Drug Enforcement Agency [DEA] said it didn't know of any hardnumbers . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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